Balancing Prayer, Reading and Work
Life as a Trappist is centered around our belief in the power of deep, contemplative prayer, and we pursue it wholeheartedly by following the centuries’ old Rule of St. Benedict.
In relative simplicity, silence and separation from dominant culture, we balance the practices of prayer, reading and work.
Our deep inner lives, distinct daily rhythms and shared spiritual journey become a continuous prayer of life—to God and for the world.
Deep inner life
A Trappist seeks to let go of daily distractions to free the mind and heart for deep contemplation. Our activities and attire are simple and humble.
Our grounds are profoundly silent save for purposeful speech, quiet chant and the sounds of nature. We are lovers of place and find blessings in union with and stewardship of creation.
Life as a Trappist maintains decided degrees of separation from the outside world—so that we may continually renew ourselves and the world through prayer.
Shared spiritual journey
Trappist communities bring together people of diverse ages and backgrounds who share a deep desire to know God, discern His will, and to give ourselves over to His love.
We grow in friendship, support each individual’s ongoing formation and wellbeing, and draw inspiration as we encounter the presence of Jesus Christ in community.
People who meet Jesus experience profound transformations. Our hearts ache to give expression to the love awakened by the encounter.
We must let go of selfishness and fear to love this fully and freely. This work of letting go and loving God is called "conversion" and that is what life as a Trappist is all about.
a. Our Vows
Inward and Outward Simplicity
Far more than a legal obligation or social contract, Trappist religious vows express that one is wholly given over to living the way Jesus lived: obediently, communally, chastely and with great inward and outward simplicity. Here we summarize the vows professed by all Trappist brothers and sisters.
Obedience.
As followers of Christ who came not to do his own will but the will of the Father who sent Him, we promise obedience to an abbot or abbess. This obedience is characterized by a quality of soul that makes us willing to put our own desires aside even to the point of preferring another’s wishes.
Stability.
We commit ourselves for life to one community, resisting the temptation to escape our truth through restless movement. We work out our salvation together in faith, hope and love—gradually entrusting ourselves to God’s mercy in the company of brothers or sisters who know us and accept us as we are.
Conversion of Life.
We promise to live the monastic way of life as a means of learning the truth about ourselves in ways that enable change. Knowing ourselves as we really are, we become radically dependent on the Jesus who shows us God’s mercy. Confident in God’s forgiveness, we experience intimacy with god and are born to a new kind of life. The Trappist religious vow of Conversion binds us also to a free and joyful observance of voluntary poverty and chastity.
Poverty.
We possess nothing of our own and hold everything in common with our brothers and sisters as a way to free ourselves from the self-centeredness that separates us from God and others. Being poor with the poor Christ, we experience His need for God and God’s manifest mercy.
Celibate Chastity.
To liberate the love of our hearts for service to Jesus, we embrace celibacy and renounce married love. This radical discipline, sustained only by prayer, does not separate us from the riches of human love but is a means by which that love is taken up and fulfilled as a gift to the church and world.
b. The Trappist Day
Distinct Daily Rhythms
Life in a Trappist monastery follows a steady rhythm punctuated by frequent prayer and worship, the study of sacred texts, and simple, honest work that sustains our earthly mission. Each activity enriches the other, keeping our hands, hearts and minds fully alive—so that we are always ready to listen and respond to God’s call.
Praise of Bells.
Throughout the day, the divine call of God finds expression in the sound of bells that carry us to prayer, spiritual reading, manual labor, the company of our brothers and sisters, and to retire at the day’s end.
Keeping Vigil. Rising before dawn, we foster a joyful anticipation of the Lord’s return in our hearts. Maintaining silence and refraining from work during these nocturnal hours known as “The Grand Silence”, we keep vigil alone yet in loving solidarity with brothers and sisters around the world.
Lectio Divina.
Each day we devote time to reading and meditating on the Word of God, a practice called Lectio Divina. This awakens heartfelt prayer and the opportunity to encounter Jesus and surrender ourselves to silent loving contemplation of the mysteries of Christ.
Eucharist Celebration.
Our community comes together at Mass to celebrate our unity in faith, with the whole church and body of Christ. We offer the Eucharist as a powerful source of healing and reconciliation for the painfully divided human family.
Liturgy of the Hours.
Seven times a day, we interrupt our activities, gather in church, sing praise to our Creator and listen prayerfully to the Word of God. This exercise, also called the Divine Office or Opus Dei, consecrates each successive phase of the day, revealing deeper meaning so that we may return this as a gift to God.
Manual Labor.
Engaged in daily tasks that support life in a monastery, we recognize how the Lord carries on His work of creation through our hands. Manual work also keeps us mindful in solidarity with men and women all over the world who must labor to earn a living.
Monastic Interval.
Living in fidelity to a rule of life inspired by the Gospel, we discover an interior freedom in holy leisure—periods of quiet between daily exercises given to intimate experience of God’s friendship in prayer and interaction with our brothers and sisters in the monastery.
Retiring for the Night.
As darkness falls, each returns to his or her cell grateful for having spent another day in the Lord’s service. Entrusting ourselves to the Lord’s protection during the night, we anticipate that new day which will be a sign of Christ’s resurrection and pray: “Into your hands O Lord, I commend my spirit!”
c. Lectio Divina
The Study of Sacred Texts
God comes to us through nature, art, friendships, joy and suffering, but the deepest meaning of these experiences must be illuminated by the Word of God. Each day a Cistercian devotes time to reading and meditating upon the Word of God, a practice called Lectio Divina.
Four Movements.
1. Lectio, reading the word of God.
2. Meditatio, meditating on that word.
3. Oratio, offering a prayer response to the meditated word.
4. Contemplatio, contemplation, that is, quietly abiding in the experience of being, heart and soul – a total “yes” to God.
“Lectio Divina is a discipline whose fruits are experienced over time. One needs to understand the practice and then commit to it with some regularity.”
A Gift from God
When we practice Lectio our intention is to open our hearts to the power of God’s Word. According to an old monastic teaching, when the monk reads, the Word of God passes through his mind and drops down and comes to rest on top of his heart. Then, the monk’s heart breaks open and the Word falls into it. God’s Word converts the heart and makes him a new creation. In Lectio, quite naturally and spontaneously, we find ourselves moved to the prayer of supplication, thanksgiving or adoration in response to God’s love communicated to us in the Sacred Scriptures.
d. Liturgy of the Hours
Communal Worship
According to St. Benedict, Opus Dei – the work of God – is to be preffered by the monk above everything else.
In Trappiest monasteries, we often use these words to describe the Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office, a practice where we gather seven times a day to chant prayers and listen prayerfully to the word of God.
Chanting the Psalms to a short melody was discovered in ancient times to be very conducive to prayer, and Trappists continue the practice to this day.
While the specific times and practices vary by monastery, Liturgy of the Hours generally begins in the dark early morning hours and concludes in the evening before we retire to our cells.
These hours include:
Vigils, the pre-dawn prayer service
Lauds, the morning prayer shortly after sunrise
The Little Hours (Terce, Sext, None), shorter prayers times to mark mid-morning, midday and mid-afternoon
Vespers, the evening prayer service
Compline, the night-time closing prayer
Each of these prayer services consecrates a particular hour of the day – yet for Trappists, there is the curious sense of stepping outside of time when praying the Divine Office. Our Prayer unites us to each other in community and intercedes for the larger Church and the needs of the world.
e. Eucharistic Life
Our Relationship with the Blessed Sacrament
Every element of Trappist life emphasizes deep listening to God, the community, and our inner life. We find true happiness and fulfillment as human beings in surrendering our life to God in imitation of Christ. When we celebrate Mass and receive the Eucharist, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is made especially present. The Celebration of the Eucharist binds the worshipping community together in Thanksgiving for the gift of Love we have received.
Special Customs
Trappists have been celebrating Mass together for nine hundred years. We preserve certain customs from Medieval times in our own Cistercian rite of the Mass. For example, when a parish priest would genuflect, a Trappist priest would bow. At the beginning of the gospel when parish worshippers cross themselves three times, once on the forehead, once on the lips, and once on the breast, Trappists cross ourselves one time, (forehead, breast, both shoulders). We tend to make longer pauses after the readings and at the end of prayers and, in general, the liturgy moves at a slower pace than that of parish liturgies.
Simplicity.
Because we are poor, the vestments worn by the priest, the vessels used on the altar, and the musical instruments we use are striking in their simplicity.
Silence.
Trappists observe silence in church in order to maintain an atmosphere of recollection all times. This means that we would not gather behind church and visit with one another after Mass as is common in parishes. Rather, each of us would typically spend a short time in silence before the Blessed Sacrament, and only enter conversation in one of the rooms adjacent to the chapel.
Community.
We consider it a blessing that we are able to celebrate the Eucharist with people we know very well, some of whom we may have lived with for decades. The melodies we chant, in many cases, have been passed down to us from generations of monk and nuns whose artistic gifts we celebrate as if they were our own brothers and sisters.
f. Meditation
Being Present to God
While many people are familiar with meditation practices that seek to expand the mind or to empty oneself, Trappists practice Christian meditation, which seeks to open the heart and mind to encounter with God.
A meditative lifestyle.
Daily life in a Trappist monastery as a whole can be described as meditative. This can include experiences in nature, steady work and reflections in a sacred space – in addition to moments officially dedicated to meditation.
Christian meditation is sometimes described as a conversation with the living God. What’s important is achieving a quite and stillness of the mind that allows us to be more receptive to God. With effort and practice, we can cultivate a meditative awareness of God’s love and nearness throughout the day.
Dedicated meditation.
Certain times during the Trappist day are devoted to deliberate, focused meditation. A natural moment for many Trappists to practice meditation is immediately following the celebration of Eucharist. Some monasteries also schedule a period of meditation after Vespers, the evening prayer time when a monk or nun can contemplate the mysterious fruitfulness and goodness of God manifest in the events of the day. Another common meditative practice is adoration in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed in a monstrance on the altar.
g. Work
We Live by the Work of Our Hands
Work has always been greatly esteemed in Trappist tradition. It gives monks and nuns the opportunity to follow in Christ’s footsteps and share in His divine work of creation and restoration. Sometimes hard and redeeming, work also provides for our livelihood and also for our care of the poor.
Trappist monasteries are often known by the public for making speciality goods that may be purchased online or in our gift shops. At any given abbey, you may find monks and nuns at work crafting cheese, wine, honey, preserves, woodworking or textiles.
Trappists work daily for the glory of God and the good of community. Self-sufficiency allows a monastery to maintain enough separation from dominant culture to permit lives of prayer and study in communion with our brothers and sisters. In addition to making goods for sale, a lot of work goes into operating the abbey and supporting community life.
We maintain our buildings, which involves carpentry work, plumbing, electricity and continuous cleaning. There are gardens to cultivate, meals to cook, clothing to wash and mend, liturgical booklets to make, financial records to keep and guests to care for.
Being a Trappist monk or nun means acquiring a certain degree of interior freedom to be ready and willing to serve in any of these different capacities.
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